Imagine a world in which you had very easy-to-understand financial products. I'll detail a few below.

Simple Life Insurance: You pay us non-refundable premium every year. If you die we pay your family money. This much money. If you live, your family is happier. Over and out.

Simple Mutual Funds: They come in three varieties:

a) Simple Equity Funds: We invest in the stock market. Forget Large cap or mid cap, forget this sector or that. We know what to buy, and we'll give you the fund manager's resume and past performance. We benchmark to the NSE Nifty. We don't pay dividends. We don't give bonuses. If you want to sell, you sell.

b) Simple Debt Funds: We buy debt. We know we can buy short term, long term, gilt, corporate, CDs, CPs and all that. But we decide what to buy. You just park your money with us. We are risky.

c) Simple liquid funds: We're better than fixed deposits for tax treatment. We only invest in bank CDs which are like fixed deposits except they pay us more than they'll

Imagine criminals that have sophisticated guns, satellite radios, bombs, strong armour, GPS trackers and fancy cars. And imagine someone has been given the task of "policing" them from a bullock cart, with only bows, arrows, and a sign that says "Stop, or I'll say stop again".

In the civilized world, it would be entirely unnecessary to kill the regulator. As long as you have the technology, you just have to get away in your car when a bullock cart chases you, and let your armour take the brunt of any bow or arrow that's fired.

This is how our regulatory system is.

Bernie Madoff was "discovered" at about the same time that Satyam founder Ramalinga Raju admitted he fudged accounted. Mr. Madoff is now cooling his heels in jail, where he will be for the rest of his life. Ramalinga Raju's only relation with heels is that he's probably getting a pedicure - he is out on bail and the cops haven't even been able to cobble together a case.

That story isn't the only one. The 2G scandal involving

Things are changing, ever so slightly. The story of the last 10 years has been that of an incredibly shining India and much of that shine has had to do with factors that aren't Indian. But the result has been a rapid increase in consumption that has made for very profitable consumer facing industries like motorbikes, cars, FMCG, retail, mobile phones, pressure cookers and so on.

But is this growth stalling? There is both evidence and reasons to suspect that we might be headed in the other direction.

Much of the rapid boom in consumption over the last 10 years has been on the back of low interest rates (relative to inflation). Credit growth has been as high as 30% year on year, and people have borrowed to pay for consumer durables - from fridges to TVs to mobiles to what not. Manufacturers have been happy to provide interest rate subventions if people would actually buy - you might remember the days of "zero interest EMI" payments to buy TVs, and I've personally benefited from them.

But

A dream that most of us nurture when living in a rented accommodation is purchasing our own house. When you cannot provide cash up front, a home loan is the next possible way of making the purchase.

Normally, lenders (banks, financial institutions) would require some amount to be paid upfront as a 'down payment' because normally banks do not offer a '100% loan'. A 'down payment' simply put is the difference between the purchase price of a property and the mortgage loan amount. It underlines the buyer's commitment to complete the deal and indicates the buyer's fidelity in making the loan payments.

The system of down payment exists because:

• It indicates the borrower's credit worthiness
• The amount of real investment a borrower has in their purchase, and their commitment to continue to make payments regularly are linked
• It acts as a sort of insurance for lenders, since borrowers know that if they default on their loan; they will not only lose the property but their down payment as well
• It

20 years ago, you had very limited choices when it came to knowing, analyzing or buying financial products. You went to a bank for a fixed deposit and nothing else. A stock broker would sell you stocks. To get information about companies, you would either buy a (hopefully unbiased) magazine, or go through the cumbersome process of requesting physical annual reports for analysis. You wouldn't know about competitive products or better rates unless you were willing to toil and wait forever.

Everything has changed today. Fixed income no longer means just a fixed deposit; it could mean a fixed income mutual fund, a bond traded on a stock exchange, a government security bought at an auction. Banks and stock brokers and nearly every financial advisor will sell you all these products, mostly at the same time. Stock exchanges and the regulator (SEBI) have tightened disclosure requirements, making it mandatory for listed companies to provide information to everyone on a regular basis. We have

Are you tired of paying your loan EMIs and is it taking a toll on your health? Are you a genuine customer who is currently in a financial position which does not let you repay your loans on time? Would you like to share your worries with a well wisher who can, not only lend you an ear, but, maybe also do something to alleviate your problems? Help is at hand. That too free of cost! The BSCBI's Credit Counseling Service.

The Banking Codes and Services Board of India offers a free of cost Credit Counseling service to Individuals who have taken Home Loans, Personal Loans, Vehicle Loan or incurred Credit card debt upto a maximum limit of Rs 50 Lakhs. The service is available only if you have taken a loan from member banks of BCSBI. The list of members currently has 80 banks which include all State Banks and mostly all Private Banks and many co-operative and rural banks. This service is also available to Micro and Small Enterprises.

How it takes place

1.    Borrower directly contacts BCSBI

"1860% dividend announced", goes the headline. You're excited. But the question isn't, "Where do I sign?", but "1860% is great, but a percentage of what?"

The number is a percentage of "face value" which is as relevant today as a rotary-dial telephone. When a company is created, the founders distribute the initial capital into shares. A company started with Rs. 100,000 could be split into 10,000 shares of Rs. 10 each (the "face value" per share).

This company can, over time, earn enormous profits without any further capital requirements. Or, it might borrow money from a bank to fuel expansion and as it profits from growth. The capital could remain unchanged, with the original shares changing hands in a stock market. If the company grows to earn, say, Rs. 10 crore (Rs. 100 million) in profits, and decides to distribute half of it as profit, what happens?

You have a distribution of Rs. 5 crore (50 million) divided over 10,000 shares, or a dividend of Rs. 5,000 per share. The "face value"

Your credit card can be the single most important factor in improving and increasing your credit score. On the other hand it can also plummet your score to dark depths if you are not careful. Think smart and use your credit cards to your advantage. Here are some pointers on what to do and what not to do in order to achieve this reality.

1. No debts so far. Opting for a brand new credit card for the first time.

This makes sense for your credit score. Making use of a credit card judiciously will help you improve your credit score. Just make sure you open your credit card with a respected and popular brand name.

2. Opening a new credit card account.

When you already have a couple of credit cards, opening a brand new credit card account can cause a dip in scores. By all means obtain a new credit card if you are not planning to get into more debt, else think several times before opting for one.

3. Low credit limit.

Keep a tab on the credit limit of your credit card. Open a credit card